Grab & Go Breakfast & Lunch Ideas

I am working on the "no gain" goal this holiday season.  To be honest, I'd be loving it if I lost, but that's a lofty goal this time of year, I realize.

I happened upon a Pin about cost friendly meals and discovered a great tip in her suggestion of freezing breakfast and lunch "wraps" or basically, way better for you hot pockets.
 

Source: smithlive.blogspot.com via Amy on Pinterest

Here are the two recipes that my family has tried and will be keeping stocked in our fridge all the time.

WW Breakfast Taco - quadruple recipe, prep/cook, wrap in foil, freeze

Ingredients:

Non stick cooking spray

1 whole egg

3 egg whites

6 slices "Oscar Mayer Deli Fresh Shaved - Smoked Ham", chopped- replaced with breakfast sausage from a local farmer

2 (8 inch) whole wheat flour tortillas

1/4 cup 2% shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:

1. Beat whole egg, egg whites and ham until well blended. Heat a nonstick skillet sprayed with cooking spray on medium high heat. Add egg mixture; cook 3 minutes or until set, stirring occasionally.

2. Spoon egg mixture down centers of tortillas; top with cheese. Fold in opposite sides of each tortilla, then roll up burrito style.

Yield: 2 Burritos

Serving Size = 1 Per Serving.

Weight Watchers PointsPlus+ = 6 Per Serving

Nutrition Information:

Calories 230, Carbs 19g, Fat 8 g, Fiber 3 g, Protein 19g

 

WW Chicken Burrito Wrap - quadruple recipe, prep/cook, wrap in foil, freeze

Ingredients:

1 oz ranch salad dressing mix, dry 

7 ozs picante sauce 

8 ozs chicken breast skinless

11 pcs fat-free flour tortillas, warmed 

8 ozs light sour cream

Directions:

Dump first 3 ingredients in crock pot and cook 6-8 hours on low.  Shred chicken and then mix wiht sour cream.   Fill each tortilla with 1/4 cup chicken mixture.

Nutritional Info Per Serving: (1 Chicken Wrap)

Calories 143; Carbs 22g; Protein 9g; Fat 4g; Fiber 0.8g

 

I'd love to see what you've Pinned & tried lately!

 

I feel like chicken tonight-

These days, I'm preferring slow cooker meals because that's about all I have the energy for (especially love the ones that require NO pre-browning, rinsing, boiling, etc).

But, this chicken recipe popped out and I saw organic potatoes on sale at Kroger so my mind went to either Crash Hot Potatoes from the Pioneer Woman or Roasted Potatoes and Garlic (my hubby opted for the first selection).

Honey and Spice Baked Chicken from Taste of Home
Prep/Total Time: 30 min.          Yield: 8 Servings

Ingredients

•3 teaspoons garlic powder
•3 teaspoons chili powder
•1-1/2 teaspoons salt
•1-1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
•1-1/2 teaspoons paprika
•3/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
•8 boneless skinless chicken breasts (5 ounces each)
•6 tablespoons honey
•2 teaspoons cider vinegar


Directions
•Combine the first six ingredients; rub over chicken. Transfer to a greased 15-in. x 10-in. x 1-in. baking pan.
•Bake at 375° for 25-30 minutes or until juices run clear. Combine honey and vinegar; baste over chicken during the last 10 minutes of cooking. Save three chicken breast halves for Chicken Chimichangas (recipe also in Recipe Finder) or save for another use. Yield: 5 servings plus 3 cooked chicken breast halves.

NI: 1 chicken breast equals 210 calories, 4 g fat (1 g saturated fat), 78 mg cholesterol, 522 mg sodium, 15 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 29 g protein. Diabetic Exchanges: 4 lean meat, 1 starch.


What I love about this is that the leftovers can be saved or frozen to make:

Chicken Chimichangas
Prep/Total Time: 20 min.Yield: 6 Servings
Ingredients
•3 Honey & Spice Baked Chicken breast halves, cubed
•1 cup refried beans
•1 teaspoon chili powder
•1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
•1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
•1/4 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
•1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
•6 flour tortillas (8 inches), warmed
•3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
•Oil for deep-fat frying
•Optional toppings: sour cream, salsa con queso dip, shredded lettuce, chopped tomatoes and chopped seeded jalapeno pepper

Directions
•In a small microwave-safe bowl, combine the first seven ingredients. Cover and microwave on high for 1-1/2 to 2 minutes or until heated through. Spoon 1/3 cup off-center on each tortilla; sprinkle with cheese. Fold up edge nearest filling; fold in both sides and roll up. Secure with a toothpick.
•In an electric skillet or deep-fat fryer, heat oil to 375°. Cook chimichangas until golden brown, turning to cook all sides. Drain on paper towels. Serve with toppings of your choice. Yield: 6 servings.

So, do you have a favorite slow cooker recipe to share?

Sweet and Sour Turkey Meatballs

This is a great recipe!  I am currently making a double batch so that I can freeze one set of meatballs after baking and then heat with the sauce for a quick meal after baby arrives.


Sweet & Sour Meatballs

Meatballs:
1.5 lb of ground turkey (or 0.75 lbs ground beef and 0.75 lbs ground turkey)
3/4 cup instant oats
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
2 T chopped onion (or about 1 T onion powder if you're me)
salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste
*flour for rolling meatballs in (about 1/4-1/3 c cup)

Sauce:
1/2 c brown sugar
3 t white vinegar
1 c water
2 T Worchestershire sauce
1/2 c ketchup
1/2 c BBQ sauce
1 T chopped onion (or dash of onion powder)

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Spray a 9x13 baking dish with Pam.
• Mix together all ingredients for the meatballs but leaving the flour out. 
• Form meat mixture in to meatballs.
• Roll in flour and then place in pan.  Should make 1 full layer.
• Bake for about 15 minutes or until browned.
• In a small sauce pan, mix together all ingredients for the sauce.
• Stir over medium heat for about 5-10 minutes- enough to heat through.
• Pour over meatballs and bake for another 30 minutes.
• Serve over brown rice.

Enjoy!

Lasagna Turkey Roll Up

This recipe is from a Simple and Delicious magazine by Taste of Home.  We love this and it also makes a great meal to take to someone for any occassion.  I like that you can also just thaw a few at a time to freeze as single serve/good for deployment or for small meals to deliver to a recent widow.  Enjoy!

Lasagna Roll Ups Servings: 10, single rolls- easily doubled and frozen

Ingredients:
10 uncooked lasagna noodles
1 package (19-1/2 ounces) Italian turkey sausage links, casings removed
1 package (8 ounces) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese (softened or cubed), softened
1 jar (26 ounces) spaghetti sauce, divided
1-3/4 cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided

Directions
1. Cook noodles according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook sausage over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. Stir in cream cheese and 1/3 cup spaghetti sauce.
2. Drain noodles; spread 1/4 cup meat mixture on each noodle. Sprinkle each with 2 tablespoon cheese; carefully roll up.
3. Spread 2/3 cup spaghetti sauce into an ungreased 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish. Place roll-ups seam side down over sauce. Top with remaining sauce and cheese.
4. Cover and bake at 350° for 20 minutes. Uncover; bake 10-15 minutes longer or until bubbly.

NI: 1 roll-up equals 372 calories, 22 g fat (11 g saturated fat), 81 mg cholesterol, 885 mg sodium, 25 g carbohydrate, 2 g fiber, 19 g protein.

Chicken & Spinach Enchiladas

I got the recipe from a good friend of mine.  I love this recipe because it was easy to adapt (leaving out the salsa) and also because it freezes really well.  I just make about 4 of the enchiladas and then wrap the other 4 in saran wrap, foil and use the bag the tortillas came in as the last layer for freezing. 

Additionally, want to note there's now a recipe index on my blog.


Chicken and Spinach Enchiladas:

Ingredients
1 10oz package of frozen chopped spinach
1 cup salsa, divided
2 10oz cans of enchilada sauce
1 8oz cream cheese (I use 1/3 less fat)
2 1/2 cups shredded or chopped roasted chicken
10 (7-8in) flour tortillas (I use the multi-grain or whole wheat ones)
8oz shredded Mexican or cheddar cheese

Toppings: shredded lettuce, guacamole, cilantro, red onion, tomatoes, low-fat sour cream
1) Drain spinach, set aside.
2) Stir together 1/2 cup of salsa and enchilada sauce, set aside.
3) Microwave cream cheese for 1 minute or until soft, add spinach, chicken and remaining salsa, stir.
4) Spoon a heaping 1/3 cup full of chicken mixture down the center of each tortilla. Roll up tortilla and place seam sides down in a lightly greased 13x9" baking dish. Pour enchilada sauce evenly over top, sprinkle with cheese.
5) Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes, let sit for 5 minutes. Serve with toppings.

You can freeze this dish for up to 4 weeks. Pack tightly with plastic wrap and foil. Don't bake before freezing. When you take it out of the freezer bake immediately for 1 hour or thaw then bake for 30 minutes.

Creole Beef Casserole

Adapted from Simple & Delicious
November 2010

Creole Beef Casserole
Serves: 8-12

Ingredients:
1 cans cream of chicken soup
2 cups light sour cream
1 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp pepper
1 (30 oz) package frozen hash browns
2 cups cheddar cheese
1 lb ground beef (original calls for 1.5 lbs but I always cut back)
1 cup ketchup
1/4 c packed brown sugar
3 tsp Creole seasoning
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
3/4 c crushed cornflakes
1/4 c melted butter

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350.
In a skillet, brown the ground beef over medium heat until the pink is gone.  Drain.
While beef is browning, in a large bowl, combine hashbrowns, onion powder, soup, cheese and sour cream.  Mix.  Turn in to a greased 9x13 baking dish.
Add the ketchup, brown sugar and remaining seasonings to the beef.  Spoon on top of potatoes in baking dish.
Top with combination of cornflakes and butter.
Bake at 350 for 45-60 minutes.

I think you could easily freeze this by allowing the beef to cool, then adding it to the top of the potatoes. You'd add the topping right before cooking. 

Chicken & Wild Rice Soup

Adopted from the recipe at Betty Crocker.

I liked the concept of this recipe, but changed it just a bit to make it more family-friendly at our house.  Well, heck, to make it more mommy and daddy friendly!  And this delivered.  Yum!  A perfect fall lunch or dinner.  I doubled the batch and will be freezing some for quick lunches/meals when DH is TDY (business trip in civilian terms).

Chicken and Wild Rice Soup
Servings: About 12
Time- About 40 minutes (if chicken is cooked)

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons canola or soybean oil
1/2 cup Gold Medal® all-purpose flour
2 cups water
2 cups cut-up chicken (about 2 breasts)
3 1/2 cups Organic Chicken Broth (1, 32 oz container)
1 1/2 cups Wild Rice Blend
1 Tbsp Spice Mix
1 cup original soy milk or fat-free (skim) milk
Slivered almonds for garnish (optional)

Directions:
1.Melt butter in 5-quart Dutch oven over medium heat. Stir in oil and flour with wire whisk until well blended. Stir in water, chicken, water, broth, rice and rice seasoning.

2.Heat to boiling over high heat, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to medium-low. Cover and simmer about 25 minutes or until rice is tender.

3.Stir in milk; heat just to boiling. Remove from heat. Sprinkle each serving with almonds.

Stuffed Shells

Based on the recipe found here.
This was amazing!!!  I doubled the recipe to have one in the freezer to take to a friend this week & ended up with 2, 9x13 casserole dishes plus 2 small pans.  So, perfect for nights when my husband's travelling or home late.  The kids weren't fans, but maybe they'll come around.  I served with this amazing Roasted Garlic bread from Costco and a Cabernet Sauvignon.  So yummy!!!

Stuffed Shells
Serves:

Ingredients:
1 box Jumbo Pasta Shells
1 lb lean ground turkey
1 tsp onion powder
1 clove garlic, minced
2 cups Weight Watcher's Mozzarella Cheese
1/2 cup seasoned breadcrumbs
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
1/2 cup lowfat ricotta cheese
1 jar Prego Heart Healthy Ricotta Parmesan Spaghetti Sauce

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 30 degrees F.
2. Cook shells according to directions, until just tender.
3. Meanwhile, brown turkey, onion powder and garlic on the stovetop. Drain.
4. Mix 1 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese, breadcrumbs, egg, parmsan and ricotta cheese in a bowl and add turkey mixture when done.
5. Spray 9x13 pan with non stick spray.
6. Line pan with spaghetti sauce.
7. Stuff shells carefully with turkey and cheese mixture and plae ce in 9x13 pan when done.
8. Cover finished shells with sauce. *Stop here and freeze for a freezer meal.
9.  Bake, covered with foil, at 350 degrees F for 40 minutes.
10. During last 10 minutes, cover with the remaining mozzarella cheese and bake until melted.

NI: 589 cals, 169 g Fat, 100 mg chol, 1,293 mg sodium, 67 g carbs, 7 g fiber, 41 g protein

Hawaiian Crock Pot Chicken

 Don't hate me, but no picture.  When I finished my first 8 mile run last night, I could barely move, so... you're stuck with my good word that it was delicious.  My toddler loved it and asked for more, my preschooler ate some but was pretty annoyed we weren't having yet another peanut butter sandwich for dinner.  Alas...  I loved how easy this was to throw together, how easy it would be to double, it would freeze well which also makes it great for just 1 person.  Leftovers will be fantastic!  Enjoy!

Hawaiian Crock Pot Chicken
Servings: About 5

• ¾ cups Low Sodium Soy Sauce
• ½ cups White Wine Vinegar (Apple Cider would be good, whatever you've got handy)
• ½ cups Pineapple Juice
• ¾ cups Brown Sugar, Packed
• 1 teaspoon Ground Ginger
• 2 cloves Garlic, Finely Chopped
• 1.5 pound Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts


Directions:
Dump everything in to crock pot.  Cook on low for 6 hours.  Shred chicken and serve either with sandwich bread or over brown rice. 
NI (chicken only):  242 cals, 1.2 g fat, 55 mg chol, 1,135 mg sodium, 42 g carbs, 0 g Fiber, 24 g protein

Baked Spaghetti

Yum!  Made this for company tonight and they loved it... so did my 2 picky toddlers, husband and myself!  This would also be wonderful to put in the freezer as a last minute meal for company or to drop off to someone with a new baby.  Just leave off the shredded cheese and let them top it themselves.  The picture isn't the greatest.  We had company and I waited until we were finished to snap the photo.

Baked Spaghetti
Servings: 8

Ingredients:
1 lb 93% lean ground beef
3, 15 oz cans Contadina Italian Herb Tomato Sauce
2, 6 oz Contadina Tomato Paste with Herbs (or Garlic)
3/4 cup fat free sour cream
1/4 cup far free cream cheese
1/4 cup part skim ricotta
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp dried basil (more if fresh)
12.5 oz Ronzoni Smart Taste Spaghetti
1 1/2 cup Weight Watchers Mexican Blend Shredded Cheese

Directions:
1. Cook pasta according to directions on box.  Drain and set aside.
2. Meanwhile, brown beef in a large skillet with onion powder.
3. When browned, add tomato sauce and paste.
4. Meanwhile, spray a 9x13" baking pan with cooking spray and preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
5. Put 2 cups of tomato and meat sauce in the bottom of the baking dish.
6. Add the spaghetti noodles.
7.  In a small bowl, mix together the cream cheese, sour cream, ricotta cheese and basil.
8. Add on top of spahetti.
9. Top with remaining meat and tomato sauce.
10.  Sprinkle cheese on top.
11. Cover with foil and bake 20 minutes.  Remove foil and bake an additional 10 minutes.

NI: 469 cals, 9 g fat, 51 mg chol, 2192 mg sodium, 76 g carbs, 12 g fiber, 31 g protein